Dealin' with Idiots

I'm a huge fan of the actors in this movie. Sadly, they never really hit their stride. They might have filmed this movie over a weekend. Giant disappointments. I want my $3.99 back. My family made it halfway through and they love Jeff Garlin and JB Smooth.

Comedian Max Morris (Jeff Garlin) brings his son Max to play in little league baseball. Max isn't good. Ava (Nia Vardalos) is his wife. He has imaginary conversations with his father (Timothy Olyphant). He decides to research the wacky parents who come to the games for a possible movie. Coach Jimbo (Bob Odenkirk) owns a print shop. Coach Ted (J.B. Smoove) lives next to weird neighbors Jessica (Natasha Leggero), Jackie the Chocolatier, Freddy, and Big Time Sara. Angela (Hope Dworaczyk Smith) is a hot nanny for one of the kids. Harold (Richard Kind) is married to Rosie (Jami Gertz) who is obsessed with the game snacks. Hezekiah (Steve Agee) is obsessed with the game and possibly making his own movie. Caitlin (Kerri Kenney) and Sophie (Gina Gershon) are the lesbian couple. Marty (Fred Willard) is the divorced money man who is secretly without any money.

Jeff Garlin has gathered a big cast of fun comedic talents to use in this rambling comedy. It's a lot of wacky characters in the world of little league baseball. There isn't anything tremendous but this cast is bound to get a couple of chuckles. There isn't much of a story. These aren't the Bad News Bears. The kids are mostly decorations and aren't actual characters.

This was one of those Netflix discoveries made late at night. I gave it a chance, mainly because of the stellar cast (Jeff Garlin? Fred Willard? LOVE!!!) I was beyond pleasantly surprised. I'm not a fan of writing spoilers (but I love to read them....weird, huh?!), so I'll be vague and mysterious and just say that it was such an odd, hilarious movie, but with a sprinkle of positivity that just endears you to it all the more. (Don't let this confuse you, I'm a fan of bawdy, outrageous comedy and this is chock-full of it!) You don't have to love sports or have kids to laugh your @$$ off. I love this movie, and I can honestly say I'd rewatch this again and again (which I rarely say about a movie.)

P.S. Steve Agee's character was amazing. Just...yeah. I really didn't know the man existed prior to this film, and I can't wait to see some of his other work. Also, Jami Gertz' character is the (hilariously) living embodiment of why I'm glad my kids don't care about sports.

If you're here, you may have already seen this movie. And you probably feel cheated for watching it. It seems like a nepotism filled cast of characters that are not being held to any standards or direction. The word quality never made it to this script. So, was it a comedy? Was it an adventure? Just what was it? Whatever it was, it was filled with worthless scenes and empty acting. I'm willing to bet that some of the actors were sorry for doing this movie. It was BAD.

"They're all offended by everything!?" Is a line from the hero's wife that sums up, in my opinion, the nature of the story. She says this after one of many encounters with the living breathing examples that we all bounce off of daily, of what happens when people lose their connection to humanity and replaced it with a death-grip on their own delusions(The coaches wife is my favorite/most hated example).

Jeff Garlin is genius in illustrating the everyday 'idiotics' that we all either encounter or contribute to depending on whatever determines that. I'll be on the lookout from now on for more of his work.

Even the 'fatherly' scenes that would have been left out of 95% of the genres scripts added so much depth to interactions and understanding of the star. I didn't expect that and it made things even more real and moved in between the scenes that I was laughing.

Like Idiocracy, somehow this movie escaped the radar of the masses and it's a damn tragedy, if for no other reason but I'd like to think those of us that agree with the premise of it aren't in the minority...Oh well some are born tall, some short, some smart, ...

Oh and as a bonus the casting took this movie from poignant and funny as hell to a world-class comedy experience. When you cast a movie from top to bottom with stars that can make you cry with laughter, your bound to strike gold.

Great movie!